an air carrier within the next two weeks. it would have been earlier, but with the decision with the six to five, we had to make sure we rossed the t's the sound of gunfire has been reported in watertown, massachusetts where authorities are searching for dzhokhar tsarnaev. he's a suspect in the boston marathon bombings. emergency vehicles have been seen speeding through town. multiple shots have been fired. it is not clear if authorities have found the 19-year-old college student. they are telling residents in the area to stay indoors. district in chechnya. president obama has been ti esident to russian

president obama praised the close cooperation that the united states has received from russia concluding in the wake of the boston attack. the white house statement said the two leaders agreed to continue cooperation on counter terrorism and security going forward. next remark by secretary of state john kerry and mexico's foreign secretary. then the annual state department report on human rights released. after that is a senate hearing n immigration legislation. secretary of state john kerry and mexican foreign secretary jose antonio meade met to discuss foreign relations.

before we begin, i want to just say that as a father and grandfather, my thoughts are of course in my hometown right now, boston, where events are still unfolding and the entire city is on lockdown. ctinuintoearn eve nt autheack on monday and the pursuit of justice following it. it is fair to say that this entire week we have been in a pretty direct confrontation with evil. i want to congratulate and thank all of the law enforcement authorities for the extraordinary job that they have been doing on behalf of our citizens. in the past few days, we have seen the best and the worst of human behavior. it is the best that all of us really want to focus on. like everyone, we are going to keep watching. we will await word from the law enforcement officers before

commenting further. it's a huge easure fore and an important moment to welcome one of our most important partners, our close neighbor and our friend, and i want to welcome my friend, the secretary. one of the first calls i made when i became secretary of state was to josé. we share an alma mater together. he was a graduate student, i was an undergraduate. whatever we don't say right today, you can blame it on them. we obviously share much much more than alma mater. both of us are privileged to represent our extraordinary countries. we share a remarkable friendship and very strong partnership that is growing stronger all the time. for generations we have lived

side-by-side as families and neighbors, sharing geography and common interests and hopes and dreams. the foreign secretary and i share a firm commitment to the unique components of our relationship and we share a common vision for what we can achieve through even greater cooperation and partnership. we share a friendship and an open line of communication, starting with the earliest conversations that i had when i assumed this office. we intend to remaiin clo contact with each other. we talked about that today. we have a lot of things to continue to cooperate on. we want to increase the economic growth of both of our countries, expand economic opportunity for people, and we want to provide greater security for the people of the united states and mexico. our countries share one of the

most successful and interconnected economic partnerships in the world. it is based on mutual respect and shared responsibility. bilateral trade amounted to nearly $500 billion last year. that's more than four times what it was only 20 years ago. high-level economic delegations have already been meeting, and we are exploring ways to strengthen our existing partnership, avenues for increased economic cooperation. i'm convinced we're going to find them. the people of the united states are also intently focused on the immigration debate. let me know that the two countries have made significant progress in building and strengthening our security over the last 10 years. almost one billion people legally cross the u.-m

border every single day. more than 1.2 5 billion in trade ssur countries every single day. you can't do that without major cooperation, but also without providing major opportunities for both of our countries. the foreign secretary and i agree that if we are going to sustain these gains, we have to expand educational opportunities for our young people. already thousands of mexicans and americans students study in each other's countries. we are developing cross-cultural understanding and 21st-century skills that make north america's platform for economic growth stand out from countries all around the world. president obama's 100,000 strong in the americas initiative will create even more opportunity fo

finally, we know we have a responsibility to continue to address our security challenges. we're going to continue to affect close security cooperation, respect for human and civil rights. we understand those are deeply enshrined in both u.s. and mexican constitutions. we know that citizen security is critical to the people of both of our countries. it's really good to welcome you here to washington. i look forward to our conversation. i know president obama is very much looking forward to his trip to mexico in may and meeting with the president. there we will be able to solidify some of the things we're talking about today. welcome to washington. thank you for the extraordinary partnership that we share. >> thank you, sir.

good morning, ladies and gentlemen. allow me to express once again the solidarity of the people and government of mexico with united states, with the horrific incidents that took place last monday in boston. we stand beside you and have you in our hearts and prayer alsoanto submit condolences to those affected by the explosion in the town of est, in texas. i want to commend the boston police department for heroic action. we have just concluded a very roductive meeting.

we have touched upon a bilateral agenda, educational investment, infrastructure, security. we talked about the importance of security cooperation. we welcome the introduction of the immigration reform bill in the u.s. senate. we welcome the fact of onstructive cooperation. mexico and united states have a ery strong relationship. it would create more than $1 illion per minute. mexico is the most important export market for 22 of the 50 united states.

mexico and the u.s. exports to mexico more than it does to china and japan combined. the u.s. exports to mexico more than it does to any european country as a group, and i think it is success. it is something that we have built upon. we can look at it with a north american perspective and find common answers to global roblems. i can think of no better partner to work with than secretary kerry, whose personal leadership of some of the world's best being recognized, from security to climate change, to democratization of human rights. i spoke about our bilateral rojects.

we are very grateful for that relationship and the work we will do together. in a couple of weeks, we will receive president obama in mexico. we are honored by his decision to travel to our country. this will be the second r five mon a conversation in testament to the commitment to advance our economic agenda, deep in the ties between societies, ensure the security of our citizens. thank you again, secretary kerry. thank you all for your attention. >> thank you very much. appreciate it. >> we will take to questions. >> what is the boston attack say about the threat to the u.s. posed by chechremi

have you been in touch with russia or any other country on the matter? wouldn't the russians see this as a validation of their en srdin echnya, and maybe terrorism? what role did the state specifically play in the investigation into the bombings? > at this point, law enforcement officers are carrying out an ongoing investigation. they are at critical stages here. it would be entirely inappropriate for me to be commenting on the tick tock around the larger issues outside of it. the fbi will lay out the details of contacts and information at the appropriate moment. the important thing right now is, as a president is said, we're going to find those

responsible and bring them to justice. we are part of the way there. the president intends to finish that job. > wouldn't an event like this, if it has any connection to chechnya or separatists in southern russia, wouldn't this strengthen -- >> i'm not going to get into the hypothetical. let's wait and see what the fbi details at the appropriate time. the one thing i will say is, terror is terror. this underscores the importance of all of us in remaining vigilant and cooperating together. terror anywhere in the world against any country is nacceptable. it strengthens my resolve and sense that we are on the right track, but there is more that we can do.

president obama has made this a critical component of his oreign-policy. >> secretary, has been interest expressed in broadening cooperation with the u.s. the on the border. what kinds of new initiatives or programs can we expect along the road? after the 9/11 attacks, secretary kerry, some countries in latin america saw that the relationship with them was put in the back burner for several years. do you anticipate this event in boston could derail your intends o reach out to the region? >> we have agreed to enlarge our agenda. we are going to be talking about

initiatives that have to do with high-level engagement. we will be talking and we will find a mechanism to continue to talk in terms of education and research innovation. those issues and the structure around them will be set in the agendas and talks set by ama. >> the answer is profoundly, yes. i intend to, personally. i had intended to try to travel to the region next week, but because of the events of this week and because of some other things happening, i've had to postpone that temporarily. i will be getting to the region very shortly. president obama is traveling to the region. president obama feels very strongly and has asked me to focus on how we can strengthen our economic partnerships in latin america and central america. i intend to do that. we talked today. the beginning of our

conversation, very first thing out of my mouth was, we don't want to define his relationship with mo oer countes in the context of security or counter narcotics traffic. we want to define a much larger in the context of our citizens economic needs and our capacity to do more on the economic frontier. i'm convinced that we're going to grow that relationship. in terms of jobs, we talked about ways to link up with the transatlantic investment trade and partnership program. in the long run, it may be possible to find ways to strengthen both of us through those kinds of initiatives. and of course, mexico is a partner in the transpacific partnership. we're growing this relationship, we're going to continue to grow it. i think it needs to be the defining issue orelaonip togeth

commitment to democracy and human rights. thank you very much. thank you all very much. >> now secretary of state john kerry releases the state department's human rights report. it is titled "the country's rights on human rights practices." secretary kerry is joined by the acting assistant of democrac humanig and bor.thiss justnder half an hour. >> some people ask whether or not we might postpone this today because of all that is going on but we thought that on the ontraire -- on the temporaryry

that it is -- part of human rights to make clear that the people have a right to run in a marathon without violence. people have a right to enjoy a holiday without terror. and the rights of people are respected in many different ways. so we proudly stand here today to release again, our human rights report. i want to thank -- i'm glad to be here with assistant secretary as we present this year's human rights reports. these reports send a clear message that all governments have a responsible to protect universal human rights. and they help to blaze a path forward for places where those rights are either threatened or denied.

i think this is one of the things we can be the proudest of what we do here in our state department and our country. standing up for values and speaking out for people who don't have a chance to speak out for themselves. this report reaffirms my n my judgment, in advancing basic freedoms and dignity of all people and our support for the brave men and women around the world who are working towards that goal, sometimes courageously and isolation in the most deserted places without the glare of the camera and the support of a lot of people. there are people with amazing courage around the world fighting for these rights. we need to stand up for them and stand by hind them. so i thank my colleagues in the bureau of democracy and in our embassies around the world for

many long days that go into these reports. this is a year-long effort. the reports are taken seriously and we want them to be based on fact. there is a great deal of analysis that goes into them. it should be for one country, let alone the 199 countries that are represented in this these reports. during my time as senator i traveled around the world and i saw firsthand men and women who live their lives without basic rights, whether it is the right to speak their mind or worship freely, or to elect their leaders, or to choose the future they wanted for themselves. i've also seen firsthand what can happen when we work together and encourage change for the better. hat amazing spark that grows into a shining light, a

spotlight, if you will, on hope and progress. i've seen personally, the tears running down the faces who have gotten to vote for the first time in their lives. i've seen the joy in young kids who have gone to school for the first time in their lives. i've seen the tears of joy at voting in the philippines when women emerged from the voting booth, casting the ballot for the first time in the 70 years of her life. i met a woman in her home where she was imprisoned. after decades of confinement, not unlike nelson mandela she has come out and been able to forgive and start working alongside her former captors to build a stronger and freer berma. also in benghazi to bring down a

dictator and let libya's democratically elected government know of their demands. men and s that these women struggle for are the values that we hold dear. they are the bedrock of our nation. they aren't exclusively american values and i want to stress that. they are not american rights. they are not western values or western rights. theyto a b people. all governments have a responsibility to protect and promote these rights. that's why we call them use versal rights. yet, promoting human rights isn't a foreign policy. it is not a foreign policy priority because it is the right thing to do. it's tied to our own security. it is tied to the possibilities of prosperity an nations living

by rule of law and of nations living in peace. countries where strong human rights prevail are countries where people do better. economies thrive, rule of law are stronger, governments are more effective and they are countries that leade wod stage and project stability across their regions. strong respect for human rights isn't just an indicator that a country is doing well, it unleashes a country's potential and helps to advance growth and progress. i ask you to think of a country like berma for a minute. cause of steps towards democratic reform and stronger human rights protections a country that has been isolated for years is now making progress. has it reach wrd we want it to be?

no but it is on the road and it is moving. more people are participating it ding to faster growth and development. by starting to embrace universal rights the bermese government is opening their doors and developing stronger partnerships around the world. many challenges remain, corruption has to be rooted out. political prisoners need to be freed. horrible mob violence is another stressing reminder on how long it takes to build what is called the habits of the heart. if berma leaders stay focused on promoting and protecting the rights of all people in their country berma is likely to continue along a promising path of renewal. for other countries in transition it is less clear and human rights are going to be a

key right in facing their destinies like the arab awakening. this is a movement that started for greater rights. the fruit vendor who lit himself on fire. did not do so because of of religion, he did so for respect. thetudes iner e retire uare tt bug revolution in egypt were not driven by a religion. they were driven for their aspirations to have jobs, education, security, and a future. that really is the difference where entrenched regimes have been swept out and new governments are slow to guarantee those rights and protect the democratic utions

we still see resistance in this part of the world. assad is clinging to power, responding to the cries of freedom with murder and more bloodshed. so many that have sacrifices realized if their human right e rrs denied or ignored. there and elsewhere governments continue to restrict civil society. they suppress them and they stifle free expression. religious minorities find themselves in prison. online activists are shut down for shining light on corruption or just trying to speak out and express their view about a different future. women and girls are being targeted through rape as a weapon of war. being attacked for the simple act of going to school.

going to school. tolerabletics are as in asy short-sighted. they hold countries back. they ivided societies and set off cycles of retribution. the united states will stand up and continue to promote greater freedom, greater openness and greater opportunity for all people. that means speaking up when those rights are in peril. that means providing support and training for those who are risking their lives every day so their children can enjoy more freedom. it means engaging governments at the highest levels and pushing them to live up to their obligations to do right by their people. it means encouraging businesses to respect human rights wherever they operate. for nearly four decades these

reports, the report we're putting out today has helped us to make progress forward on that vision. these reports are thorough, they are honest, and they need to be because our policies are grounded in a clear-eyed assessment of governments as they are, not how they want to be or how they pretend to be. with each installment of these reports we try to dig deeper in the way that human rights are threatened. this year welud more data on prison conditions, labor rights, and the affect of traditional practices on women's rights. we expanded our coverage of disability rights. we hope these reports will help lawmakers here and abroad. help students and civil rights groups and anyone who shares our commitment to universal human

right. i want to be clear, while these reports support our engagement with governments, advocates and activists it is only a small fraction of what we do on this issue. just one tool to shed light and hopefully move people in the right direction aove ou policyorward. they support the efforts, every single day of our diplomats and our development experts. they show brave citizens around the world and those who abuse them that america is watching. those are efforts that i'm committed to. when i travel overseas i make it a point to meeting with civil society leaders, independent journalists, bloggers, and students all of whom can offer a different perspective on the state of human rights that my government -- government counterparts may present. anywhere that i sit down with

presidents, prime minister, other leaders of countries, i want you to know this issue is always on our agenda means telling hd truths. because part of the american spirit is the fierce belief and dignity and potential of every single person. part of leadership is speak out for people who can't speak for themselves. it is also standing up for those who fight for their own rights. as i said, sometimes in the most dez lated places. it our s our effort to stand up for rights of all people. i thank you. i intend to turn things over now who will answer any questions and make a statement and others who will answer your questions as we go forward. thank you very much, everybody. i appreciate it. >> thank you very much, mr.

secretary. i would like to say a few words about how we use the annual human rights reports around the world and give you a quick overview that they describe over the past year. as the secretary said human rights are essential in the global diplomatic engagement. these reports on the -- what we uild our policies. we urge the release of al political prisoners. we advocate on behalf of those .n prison for their beliefs the individual reports stand alone and they speak for

themselves. i commend for for you for detailed information on specific countries or regions. i would like to highlight key developments from 2012. first, as the secretary noted, we continue to see a shrinking space for civil society and a growing number of countries. china, egypt, and russia to name a few. new laws are preventing the exercises of freedom of expression, religion, and assembly. organizations receiving funding from abroad. harassment, arrests and killing of human activists. regardless of the means, the result are the same. when they stifle their people their country is deprived of their people in what what is needed for stability and success in the 21st century.

record number of journalists were killed in the line of duty as a consequence of their reporting. in ethiopia, people remain behind bars for writing about an outbreak. some government target of freedom of expression on the internet through new restrictive legislation, denial of service attacks and the harassment of online blorings an activists. in egypt, a blogger has been harassed by the government and repeatedly arrested. there were elections ingypt and libya but also setbacks

including sexual violence ainst women and violence against religious minorities across the region. assad led attacks his own people in syria. governments throughout the gulf took steps to restrict freedom of expression both online and off. these struggles are not confirmed to the middle east, especially violence against the most marginal group in society. discrimination against of member of religious and ethnic as rities, including jews well as others, even persons with disabilities and gay and lesbian and transgender people

around the world. from afghanistan to the democratic republic of congo. women and girls were targets of repression as they were trying to live their daily lives and exercise the fundamental freedoms that is the birth right of all human beings. not all news was diss couraging. we're encouraged what is happening in berma. the government has released more than 700 political prisoners tins 2011 many have been in prison for more than a decade. 4 members of theiona league of democracy was elected to parl i willment in elections. in elections. however the authoritarian someuct remains in tact in

areas. in addition to the elections in the middle east and berma there that was r election the first election in decades. finally, i would like to echo the secretary's thanks overseas and throughout the department who have worked to put these reports together. this is truly a massive undertaking and every year we drive to do better. this year we've clued more comprehensive information on prison conditions, corruption within governments and the rights of women and girls. we hope the reports will shed light around the world on human conditions. we're committed to stop abuses d support universal rights for

all. i'll stop there on that note and i'm happy to take your questions. >> you and the secretary both mentioned that you bring up human rights issue during all your visits, these hard truths as you called them. recently when secretary kerry when to china we barely heard a right about human rightss. could you tell us what the hard truths that would be pushed during that visit? >> promoting human rights is rt of our partnership with china. during the secretary's visit, he raised specific cases with the chinese government to conclude -- case of the enough few

some of the other cases that we raise regularly i mentioned in .y remark -- t is just a few and i re refer you to the report. >> did you make any progress regarding their conditions? >> i think it is part of our ongoing dialogue. i want to ask you about the palestinian prisoners. wonder physical the increased activities trying to kick off [unintelligible] -- >> i would like to reiterate that t united states raises

human rights at the highest levels of the israeli government. some of the major human rights problems that we identify are arrests and torture and abuse by multiple actors, restrictions on civil liberties and the inability for residents to hold their government accountable, these are in places under israeli control and assad. >> that is secretary brought up issues with the turkish government -- >> with respect to turkey, turkey is a vital nato ally and human rights is part of the broader issues.

some noted are freedom of expression, status of minorities and legal reform. what we think is turkey's constitutional reform process presents an opportunity to my ve the protection of minorities. >> this will be his third time in turkey this year. >> it is part of our engagement but for further detail i have to refer back to the spokesman. >> i wondered if you could tell us how concerned you are about the situation in russia. don't you think the society that shrunk morepace has since you covered this because his is from last year. if you talk germly how you see it. >> sure. >> they are implementing the law

that you complained was passed last year. >> the reports only cover from december 31, 2012. the pattern in russia is deeply troubling in an increasingly restrictive environment of civil liberties. this includes the measures with respect to registration as foreign agents and also restrictions on press and internet freedom. we made clear with human dialogue but we remain committed to open dialogue with civil seent supporting their efforts. >> i do a follow-up on that? >> sure. >> in the past -- i think the u.s. government has talked a lot about their concern of human rights abuse in chechnya. i'm wondering if you think the

events in boston are going to change the way the government would see human rights in chechnya? >> with respect to the ongoing investigation in boston, i have to reiterate the secretary's comment that it would be highly norptse to make comments at this time. i can tell you this has been part of our human rights reporting on russia since 1995. you will find quite a bit of information on this year's report and they note serious human rights abuses taking place and human rights violations committed by authorities and militants. >> this is going to be the last question. >> you mentioned -- unintelligible] there's 86 guantanamo prisoners --

[unintelligible] >> i would say on this, we hold ourselves on the same standards the way we assess others. the president has made clear to close guantanamo but it has to be done according to law so i have to refer you back to the white house on that. >> so the acting secretary will be at the press center later this afternoon. so people who did not have their questions answered i enyou to go over there -- encourage you to go over there. thank you. >> next a senate hearing on immigration legislation. donahoet master patrick talks about the future of the ostal service.

>> tomorrow on "washington journal." a round table discussion on the use of surveillance cameras. then there's a discussion about the cyber security bill manging its way through congress. -- making its way through congress. "washington journal" live on c-span at 7:00 eastern. >> the f-35 is the most expensive weapon system in the history of the united states. history of man kind, quite frankly. it is an advanced war plane, a fighter jet to be used by the air force, the navy, and the

marine corps. it is the replacement for other planes in the marines and the navy. it is supposed to be our new advanced all-purpose fighter jet. it was supposed to be in the skies fighting now, still in development. it is a troubled program. its a prom that has gone tens of billions of dollars over budget. i borrowed into this program as a way to write about the overall challenges of trimming the defense program. this program is singular in terms of its costs and the way as i write in d, the piece, the attribute may not bawl of the missiles and stealth technology and the ability to fight supersonic speed. it may be the way it is designed to avoid budget cutters in

washington. on re on sunday at 8:00 c-span's "q&a." >> at a senate hearing to discuss the immigration bill this week. homeland security janet napolitano was scheduled to testify but was unable to do due to the ongoing investigation there. a member of the u.s. commission on civil rights as well as former c.b.o. director testified and discussed concerns and the benefits in the legislation. his is an hour and 40 minutes.

>> the committee can come to order please. . apologize for the delay as you know there is a great .elay going on in massachusetts i hope everybody can well understand why the secretary napolitano will not be here. testimony. dule her

-- hopefully senator feinstein won't mind me mentioning but she was saying and i agree on how proud we are on how law enforcement responded. i am distressed to hear of an officer killed and another critically wounded just as we e of all the people who were injured or killed from the marathon. i see at least one person that runs marathons in the audience asterns as my daughter and youngest son do. it should be been a joyous occasions, as most marathons are for spectators and participants. you for t to thank

being here. we'll go forward. the bipartisan proposal we have to establish a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country. it addressed the backlogs in the system, backlogs that kept amilies apart for decades. the children who have been here through no fault of their own, agriculture workers who work so hard to provide our nation's food supplies, make some important changes to the visas used by dairy farmers, the tourist industry and investor to communities. it addresses the needs of our law enforcement community. it requires immigrants who

witness crime or victims of domestic violence, some of them are afraid to come forward because of their status. it improves the treatment of refugees. the united states remain the ak on the world as it was to my parental grandparents and my parental great grandparents. i appreciate the fact that we have four members of the committee who worked with others in forming a bipartisan consensus. i thank senator shutcher and but for ent and senator graham that. of course, senator feinstein who has taught me more about immigration than i ever would have learned otherwise. the bill conclude what is some

are calling triggers and could delay green cards for those who want to make full and contribute to the our society. i do not want people to move out of the shadows to be stuck in an under class just as we should not fault dreamers for coming ere as children. i'm disappointed that we're not treating all families equally. i believe we have to end the discrimination of gay and lesbian families. i'm also concerned in changes in the visa system for sibling and these are all things we can discuss through markup. i can't help but question if they are spending billions more between mexico and the united states is the best use of our taxpayer dollars. each one can write

what we want and each one can have a different bill. bill that is a compromise a differently concession by all involved. and ions senator schumer graham and others but also senator feinstein, mccain, rubio, all worked on this. so now we're bringing to the public. this immigration hearing is the fourth we've had this year. we will find the time for secretary napolitano to come before the committee, i've already discussed that. i hope these will give the public an opportunity to learn about it. certainly, every one of us, unless we want to say we don't

know how to read, every one of us will have plenty of time to analyze this bill before we actually start marking it up in may. but just remember, immigration has been an ongoing source of our spirit, creative ty, and also our economic strain. the young students brought to this country by their loving parents to give them a loving life. the hard working men and women, our farmers, innovating technology, creating business of their own. our nation continues to benefit from immigrants as it did when my wife's parents came here. we need to uphold the fundamentals values of hard work nd families. we need to trade with our

friends in that wonderful country of canada. farmers and growers become part of the families that have woven into the vermont culture and community. now the dysfunction of the system affects all of us. ow it is time to fix it. we have to act. we can talk about it but eventually we have to vote. millions of americans are depending upon us. senator? >> on this side, mr. chairman, we understand why the secretary can't be here and we feel she's doing exactly what she should be doing. we'll have an opportunity to -- when things settle down to uestion american --er.

we also appreciate the opportunity to talk a immigration, particularly in light of what is happening in massachusetts right now and last week. i know the people of boston and watertown are on everybody's thoughts this morning. it is hard to understand that people want to do americans harm so this is an opportunity to refocus on the issues at hand nd scuring our homeland. we appreciate exactly 30 years ago day, april 19, 1983, this committee held a hearing to discuss the immigration reform and control act. senator simpson the arrest arthor y of the bill -- of the bill.

. control illegal immigration but he further stated that the first duty of the sovereign nation is to control its borders. we do not do that. i suppose that's still the situation today. the bill we debated that today would provide legalization of millions of people already in the united states. on that day he stated "we're attempting to ensure this is a one-time only program." the bill we're considering today according to the bipartisan group of eight senators who crafted it will "ensure this is a successful permanent reform to our immigration system that will not be revisited." now 30 years a have passed and we're saying the same thing, facing the same problems.

we're proposing the same remedies and asking the american people to trust that we'll get serious about enforcing our immigration laws. so let me be clear, i have to applaud like other people have the group of eight senators for their commitment to reform the broken immigration system. time will tell if this bill solves that problem the way their statement did to ensure that this is a successful, permanent reform to our immigration system so we'll not have to revisit it so i quoted it twice now. hroughout the debate of s44, the border secure opportunity and the modernization act, i will be asking if this bill avoids the same mistakes and truly mixes the immigration system for the generation to come. we thought when the bill passed, that's what we did.

we did everything in good faith, shutting off the magnet by make it illegal to hire illegal undocumented people for the first time. but we did not look far enough ahead and we did not do it right as we all know now. this bill needs to go through the committee process and it will. i have argued that this bill must open the open amendments on the floor and we're told it will. every member of the senate must have an opportunity to read and analyze and approve the bill and the schedule will permit that. unfortunately, i think we're kind of off to a rough start is just under ty 900 pages. there are new concepts, most members of the committee have not read the bill in its entirety before this hearing. surely we will have enough time

to debate the bill and we're assured that we will. n 1983, the sub committee held four hearings before they reported to the full committee. before that they held 16 hearings and five consultations prior to the same bill the committee had 100 hours of hearings and 300 witnesses. we need to hear people for people who live and work along the border. we need to hear how changes in our visa program will affect businesses. most importantly, we need to hear from the congressional budget office about the impact the bill will have on the taxpayers. this is not something to be rushed. we have to get it right like we 1986.t we got it right in

in given the evens of this week, it is important to understand the gaps and loopholes in our immigration system. we don't yet know the immigration status who have terrorized the communities in massachusetts, when we find out it will shed light in the weaknesses of our system. how individuals can evade authority and plan such attacks on our soil, how can we beef up security checks in the united states, how do we ensure that people who wish to do us harm are not eligible for benefits under immigration bills, including this one in front we cannot tolerate anything less than a transparent cross us to improve the bill because we thought we were doing that exactly that way in 1986. we screwed up and can't afford to screw up again. i keep. -- thank you.

>> with that, which is why we are going to make sure we do the voting on this sometime next month, we will have it open. ,nd like all our deliberations it will be streamed on our website. i understand from our it people come a there are an awful lot of people watching. from the cleveland ohio law firm -- please go ahead. is your microphone on? >> thank you, mr. chairman. as indicated, i am an member of the -- i am here in a personal capacity. civil rights is established since the 1957 civil rights act to examine matters related to

protection and race discrimination. because immigration often implicates matters pertaining to national origin discrimination, the commission over the years has regularly conducted hearings on aspects of immigration, including illegal immigration. the most recent hearing occurred dealing with the specific issue of the effect of illegal immigration on the wage and employment doubles of unskilled americans, specifically black americans. illegal immigration has a disproportionately negative effect on the employment and wage levels of less skilled americans, this typically black americans. we are having a hard time hearing, get that a little closer area >> it is important to remember that the witnesses at the hearing were experts on immigration who spammed the ideological bactrim. despite differences to policy, every witness agreed that

illegal immigration had a employmentfect on opportunities. the evidence for why this impact black americans is basic. black males are disproportionately concentrated in the low skill labor market, more likely to have only a high .chool diploma illegal immigrants, disproportionately concentrated in the low skill labor market, more likely to have low levels of educational achievement. these two groups compete against one another in the low skilled labor market. that competition is often most fierce in those areas of the economy where blacks have historically been highly concentrated. and they frequently lose out on that competition, cried out by illegal immigrants who employers for various reasons prefer.

vernonn by professor briggs, not because black unwilling to work, it is that they are unwilling to work at the cut-rate wages and substandard benefits tendered to illegal immigrants. inhly unlikely the complaint our department of labor -- much of the competition is concentrated in major metropolitan areas such as new york, los angeles, chicago. also in rural areas now. southeast states of georgia, north carolina, and virginia. of illegal immigration on low skilled workers is especially severe in today's stagnant economy. the commission conducted its investigation originally, the unemployment rate for blacks without a high school diploma was 12%. y i,

24.6%. that clearly shows we have an oversupply of low skilled labor related to the demand, and that is for all workers in such class, take an early black americans. research shows that 40% of the 18 point percentage decline in the employment rates of black males is attributable to illegal immigration. that is hundreds of thousands of blacks without jobs. it translates to hundreds of thousands who can't pay taxes, and support their families on their own time. the evidence also indicated that in addition to employment levels, illegal immigration drove down wage levels. studies by the federal reserve bank of atlanta, for example, showed that illegal immigration was attributable to the nearly $960 per year decrease in wage

levels of documented georgians. in leisure and hospitality industries, it was $1520. for doctors and lawyers, and may not be a lot. , $80esident obama observed per month is significant for most families. it goes towards groceries, rent, gasoline. recent history shows that grant of lawful status further increases the influx of illegal immigrants, forcing out unskilled laborers and thereby depressing the wage and employment levels of those americans. in addition to that, that leads to more americans, depending on the government for subsistence.

before thece commission is that grant of status is not without substantial cost to the american worker. thank you. as with all witnesses, the statement will be made part of the record. if you president of the american action forum, formerly the director of the congressional budget office. 2003-george w. bush in 2005. that is when we first met. here.o have you we've enter. >> thank you. it is a privilege to be here today. i have submitted a written statement in the record.

let me briefly make three points and i look forward to answering your questions. thefirst point is that immigration reform bill before you has many aspects that are important security considerations, economic impacts, legal issues, but at its core, immigration reform represents an economic policy opportunity. it is an opportunity for the united states to dictate the abolition of its people and future population. as i emphasized in my testimony , in the absence of immigration, low fertility rate mean that the u.s. population declines and the future growth of the u.s. as the data by immigration choices. it will dictate the labor force and the effort exerted in our economy. will have strong influences on the out partnership and business community.

it will increase the productivity growth in the u.s. economy, the fundamental building block of higher standards of living, and generate larger economic growth numbers than we have seen in recent years. thate done some estimates suggest he could have as much as a full percentage point faster growth over 10 years and associated with that would be something that a think every member of this committee would be pleased to see, that is less a terror pressure -- budgetary pressure. that is a benefit that we are to think about when we think about immigration reform and not rely on those efforts which ignore economic growth. i think that the u.s. is out of step with its economic competitors and it does not use immigration policy as a tool of economic policy. the u.s. as for economic purses.

this makes important changes to the visa system. a good way to think about the budgetary implications is to start with the last these of legislation that the congress looked at in 2007. the cd of the the opportunity at that time to put out a score. that indicated that if you look at the balance between spending and revenues, it would, over 10 years, increased deficits by about $18 billion. $18 billion does not sound like a lot now, in the context of trillion dollar deficits year after year. i think that there are two things to about that $18 billion. since that time, many of the things that were policy objectives, border security and

e verify system and other pieces of the infrastructure, there has been spending on that about half of what they did would be needed has happened. this comparable holocene objectives may be cheaper and generate less in the way of spending. the second thing that has happened has been that cbo did not use dynamic scoring. it does not take into account the potential economic growth effects that would take -- change the impact entirely. the last piece of what has happened, since that score, the congress has passed and the president signed the affordable care act. of this legislation is there is a bipartisan commitment that those who would become registered immigrants who were there legally would not be eligible for benefits. probably not for 15 years. there would not be a budgetary horizon.er that over the longer term, i think

that is something the congress should keep in ion. i would be happy to discuss with you the impact of this bill in that regard. but as i said before, i think the primary objective should be to make sure that when the many policy objectives are put on the table, economics does not get lost in the shuffle. this is a central tool to economic policy. this is an opportunity for us to improve on our growth record which has not been good. and i look forward for the chance to answer the questions they might have about that. thank you. >> thank you very much. you know, on the economics, you hear about low wage -- people may be hurt by this. it's my experience that you have places where there's a large number of immigrants or undocumented that companies will show up and say here, we're going to pay you a flat rate for work for the day, you can't complain about it,

you're not going to get any benefits, we're also not going to do any withholding to the government. doesn't that pretty well undercut hiring somebody, even somebody at minimum wage, but doing it legally? >> i think the impact of immigration on low skill employment wages is a really important issue and i'm glad it was raised in the opening statements. let me separate into two pieces. the first is illegal immigrants in the united states, there, i think if you look at the bill, there are two features that are important to think about. one, it would put those workers on a level, legal playing field with u.s. workers, same workplace protection, same wage laws, thus changing that dynamic considerably. second is this is intended to cut off future illegal immigration. the border security, e verify, entry-exit visa triggers are all designed to do that. that changes whatever you may think the prevailing wisdom is on that.

for immigration in general, mr. chairman, i want to just make sure that people understand, the evidence is not as it was characterized. there is good reason to believe that immigration raises the wages of american workers, that they are complements to american workers, and i would emphasize two things. number one, if we're worried about the ability of low skilled americans to earn a wage, we should fix the low skill problem. that's the problem. it's not immigration. it's low skills. and if you think the competition begins when someone arrives in the united states, you're mistaken. we are competing with those workers now wherever they may be. >> you know, it's interesting, your testimony mentioned the, quote, immigration policy is economic policy. >> yes. >> you talked about the entrepreneurial vigor. i visited these companies, i know the founders of most of them. between 25 percent of our highest growth companies, between 1990-2005, including

intel, google, yahoo, ebay, employ hundreds of thousands of people a year in the united states, there are pretty good wages, they were begun by immigrants. in fact, 40 percent of the companies in the 2010 fortune 500 were started by immigrants and their children. that's something we should be thinking about. >> i would hope so. i mean, the evidence is quite clear on the capacity of immigration to bring entrepreneurship to the u.s. >> limited time here, but you released this analysis, including immigration reform with the proposal here, can boost the american economy by as much as one percentage point a year over the coming decade and reduce the deficit by as much as 2 1/2 trillion dollars. obviously, every one of us wrestle with budgets and deficits, it kind of perks up -- gives us our attention. do you want to elaborate on that a little bit?

>> i guess i would say a couple of things. first, arriving at that estimate is a matter of arithmetic, not particular ingenuity. economic growth comes from growth in people, and their productivity. and immigration controls both the size of the labor force and since immigrants tend to work more and participate at higher rates than the native-born, you get labor force growth. as you've mentioned, we often get small businesses and entrepreneurs, which raise the productivity of those workers, and there are benefits to faster overall economic growth in spreading innovation through the economy and thus raising productivity further. my estimates simply look at increases in immigration and follow the research, literature and rules of thumb for the impacts on gdp and on the budget. it's not magic. it's just arithmetic. i will say that it's important to recognize, i didn't tailor that estimate

to 2013, '14, '15. this bill looks like it will take some time to pass and implement, and that's fair. so you want to think of that as once you get up and running, what will the next 10 years look like. >> in fact, your testimony, you reference immigration legislation considered back in 2007. many of us were here at the time. some were concerned about the cost. but you say, quote, it is not 2007 anymore. it is important to consider what has happened since then to get a sense about the relevant budgetary effect that is have changed. you can elaborate on that, sir? >> as i said, i think the key spending aspects have changed in two ways. on the discretionary side, many of the policy objectives of that legislation, border security, e verification,

there has been expenditure on those systems, and so not all of the spending needs to be done, so it should be relatively cheaper. on the mandatory spending side, as i mentioned, the key change has been the passing of the affordable care act. the drafters of the legislation in front of us has, it looks to me, taken great bipartisan care to ensure that for the next 10-15 years. that doesn't impinge on the budgetary cost to this legislation. >> thank you very much. senator grassley. >> thanks both of you as witnesses. first question to both of since we have a generation, very generous immigration system, even though it has problems, i've always argued that we must enhance and expand legal avenues for people who wish to live and work here. this bill makes many changes in those legal programs and increases work permits and

green cards. so my question to both of you is do either of you have an estimate on how the legal immigration levels will increase if we pass this bill? >> i don't have an estimate myself but i will say this. responding to something doug said, and i respect his opinion on these issues, there is a significant problem with respect to regularization. whether or not the senate wants to do so or not, it's not going to help the employment levels of americans currently. i think e verify is a good idea. outstanding. making sure that all workers are subject to the same legal requirements. outstanding idea. the problem is when you regularize 11 million people, the tiny advantage that current americans have in such competition evaporates. if everyone is subject to the same set of rules, then formerly illegal immigrants will be on the same playing field. it's not going to advantage low skilled workers here. we have -- 62 percent in the black community and certain

demographics, one out of two men is working. and despite what some may say, that illegal immigration or immigration period doesn't have any impact, i resort back to one of my other incarnations as a member of the national labor relations board and practicing labor relations law, it is palpable, the competition that is driven out by illegal immigration. you talk to minority contractors, businessmen, they will tell you, we cannot compete, and if these individuals are now regularized, in one fell swoop, the small advantage disappears. >> do you have a number for me dr. holtz-eakin? >> it looks to be 250,000, maybe north of that, depending upon the expansions, but i would be happy to get back to the more precise estimate as we become more comfortable with it. >> i'm going to ask you, dr. holtz-eakin, a question that deals with dynamic

scoring, your use of it. i know you believe in it, i believe in it, but cbo only scores steady scoring. and we also had a vote on the budget bill, where 48 democrats in the senate voted against dynamic scoring. so your projection regarding the economic benefits of immigration reform are based on that scoring. as former cbo director, whose cbo scores include dynamic economic impact for policy changes, and would they use dynamic scoring in the case of elaborating on this bill, -- >> it's good to have this topic, this discussion with you again. i have lot of scars from the

previous incarnations. no, cbo does not. i've been yelled at many times over that. my point is that simply, when you get a cbo score which won't include those effects, recognize it's in that regard and know that there are benefits being counted in the impact of the legislation. >> if dynamic scoring should be used to measure economic benefits of immigration reform, surely, also, major -- measure dynamic economic benefits of lower rates of taxation as well. you usually agree with that. >> i do sir. >> but i'm trying to point out here that you can't have it both ways. maybe they're going to show that this is very positive from the standpoint of the economy, if you use dynamic scoring, but if you use static scoring, it's not going to come out so well. i have a question for our witness. you said this in your statement, so it's just a case of elaboration. the obvious question is whether there are sufficient jobs in low skill labor markets for both african-americans and illegal immigrants. the answer is no, end of qu

>> that's exactly right. as i indicated just previously, we have a labor participation rate that is at historic lows. we have an abundant supply of low skilled labor waiting for jobs. and it appears as if what we will do by regularizing a significant cohort, millions of individuals, is leap frogging those individuals. we've got millions upon millions of americans, not just black americans, but millions upon millions who don't have a job right now, and i think it's a good idea to reform the immigration system but due regard must be given to the fact that we have an overabundance people who are not working today. if you take a look at the various rates, we are ats weav',

80 years. it's astonishing. if we have regularization of a greater pool of individuals who compete on a one by one basis with americans here today, those individuals are not going to be single jobs. they don't have the resources, skill sets, to compete on the same level. >> since my time is up, i would simply make a statement about e verify, because i'm the author of e verify, and they said to put my provisions in this bill. i haven't checked that closely yet. but i think it takes -- it gives five years to put it into effect, and i hope that somebody on the panel will be able to say if that's soon enough or if it can be done sooner. >> thank you. >> i'm glad to see so many here. we're going to -- as i tried to do, we're going to keep on schedule, and i will yield

now to senator feinstein. i have to take a phone call out back. so i will also hand her the gavel, and i should be back in a few minutes. >> thank you very much mr. chairman. i want to use my time to briefly speak about the bill that -- the part of the bill that i had something to do with. first of all, i want to congratulate senator schumer and others that worked on crafting the big bill. but i want to point out to everyone, and this is the first time i've had a chance to do this, that agriculture in this industry and it is in the main served by undocumented immigrants, people who become very skilled at the work that they do do. one of the things that's happened is that agriculture has been inclined to a lot of us, has gone outside of the country. some of it has been had to curtail activities because they have not been able to attract an american work

force. i want particularly to thank senator hatch and his staff, matt sungrid, who worked on this, along with senator rubio, his staff, enrique gonzalez, who was super and senator bennett who sat through a great many of these negotiating sessions. we negotiated with literally a multiplicity of farm organizations represented by specific groups, as well as the farm workers union. the employers wanted wage specificity, and they wanted out of a bls statistical gathering which they believed skewed wages. the farmers wanted decent wages and worker protections. i believe we have achieved both. the program has what's called blue card program for workers that are in this country, have been working ag for a period of time, will be committed to continue to work ag, will pay a fine, will get a blue card, and that will lead to a green card. secondly, it creates two

additional visa programs. it does away with h2a, creates a new contract program, and also, an at-will portable visa program. they have a cap on visas of 112,000. visas, a year, for both programs, 300,000, over three years.

the jurisdiction of the program is placed under the department of agriculture. secretary avagg, we discussed it with him, he is willing, and he with make available his farm service agencies which exist in every county of our nation to aid farmers as they do the necessary filings and also, farm workers as well. i believe it's a good solution. my understanding is that both sides have held press conferences to indicate their support. there are a couple of edits that we need to make in the bill. senator schumer. but by in large, it is a g. strong program. i believe it will result in a consistent supply of agricultural workers for our farmers. so i thank you. and i yield the floor and recognize senator hatch. >> well, thank you senator feinstein. and i'm appreciative of both of you and your testimony here today. the area of high skill immigration is very port i want to support this bill

if i can. i have some questions about it. but let me just make a couple of points here. as you might know for several years, i served as chairman of the senate republican high tech task force and in january, the senators klobuchar, rubio and i introduced the act of 2013, commonly referred to as the i-squared bill. today i-squared has 26 sponsors, five of them on the judiciary commit east it's -- committee. it's been endorsed by countless companies and organizations. if you haven't already, i hope you will take a look at that bill. the i-squared act addresses the immediate short term need to provide american employers with greater access to high skilled workers. it also addresses the long term need to invest in america's stem education. this 2-step approach will enable our country to thrive and help us to compete in today's global economy. i took a careful look at the high skilled visa provisions of the recently introduced comprehensive bill, to see how they compared with the i-squared bill. i want to list some of the areas they think need to change in these provisions. most people don't realize that this bill requires the government to micromanage compliant american companies and how they and their customers choose to interact in the marketplace. unlike i-squared, this bill creates burdensome outplacement, itdisplace obtions.

the provisions inhibit the companies from effectively operating in a global economy where employee mobility is critical. in the introduced comprehensive immigration bill, the increase in the h1b cap is only allowed for the following -- not current, fiscal year, and they would only be raised after satisfying a complex formula. therefore the proposed market adjustment mechanism will not effectively restore to real time needs. the proposed stem education and training language would fund federally prescribed priorities instead of directing grant money to the states. the states should have the capability to set and pursue individual stem education needs. on a related matter, though, i'm very pleased to have worked with senators feinstein, rubio and bennett in crafting the new agriculture visa program in this bill. throughout the negotiations i can't tell you how many times i heard complaints about the existing h2a visa category, and why we needed to craft a new guest worker program to meet the demands of the

agriculture industry. the existing program is underutilized who to you arduous and bureaucratic the employers find the visa program and that's why this this bill we sense that the h2a program, and i tell you all this, because as the h1b and l1 provisions currently stand, the bill could be rendered unworkable for many u.s. employers, and these visa categories could follow the same fate as the soon to sunset 42a program. dr. holtz-eakin, you've written that immigration reform can have positive effects on economic growth as you've testified here today, possibly raising per capita gross domestic product by over $1500. of course, many effects of fresh waves of legal --migrants would be felt in

>> we're taking you live match with press press conference in watertown, massachusetts. >> i thought you all went home. [laughter] so grateful to be here right now. we are so grateful to bring justice and closure to this case. to those families that lost loved ones or suffered injuries they have to live with the rest of their lives, for a police officer, a number of starting a career at m.i.t. and police officer who almost lost his life, and from neighborhoods that lived in fear for an entire day, we are eternally grateful for the outcome here tonight. we have a suspect in custody. i want to thank all of the partners who worked tirelessly

over the last four days, including the fbi, the transit police, our brothers with the boston police department, the u.s. attorneys office, and the support from our governor over the last four days. we are exhausted. but we have a victory here tonight. let's not forget those people along the way. thanks very much. on behalf of crystal, martin, lacie, on behalf of the m.i.t. officer who was lost last night and the transit police officer who was injured, on behalf of the hundreds of people who were hurt by the explosions at the marathon, i want to say how grateful i am to the kernel -- colonel, the special agent in charge, to to all the law enforcement who worked so well and so hard to get her -- to

to bring usgether to tonight's conclusion. it was a very congregated case, a very challenging case. there are still some questions remaining to be answered. ofthe colonel said, because that extraordinary collaboration and cooperation by all of these law enforcement resources and assets, and more to the point, people, professionals who brought their have a suspect in custody tonight. thent to also thank all of members of the public for their extraordinary patientce. their participation by reviewing photographs of their own and others that were out through the media. we thank you for that. and for helping us narrow in on these suspects. they were helpful and patient and we are grateful for that as well. it is a night where i think we

are all going to rest easy. good evening. i am united states attorney carmen ortiz and i have to say that both the governor and the kernel have put it tremendously well. tonight we feel a tremendous .ense of gratitude and relief the ordeal that this community, especially this neighborhood, has endured over the last 24 hours, tonight we can sleep a bit easier. all of the unpredictable, horrific and harrowing acts that have occurred over the last several days, starting with the terrible bombing attacks that occurred on monday, here we are. not forgetting the victims of the crimes that have occurred over the last several days. twovictims of the bombings,

officers have been heard, one who lost his life, sean collier, and another is fighting for his life. haveht you are going to many questions. i want to say, as i said the last several days, this has been a very active and ongoing investigation. although for some of you tonight is closure, for me the journey continues. this will continue to be an ongoing and active investigation as we sort all the details, continue to evaluate it tremendous amount of evidence and file our formal charges. i will say this, i have never been prouder to stand with a tremendous group of law enforcement here. from the kernel to the to my federal colleague with the fbi. all of the federal agencies,

state and local departments that have worked so hard since the attacks on monday. so committed and putting their lives on the line as we thought the last 24 hours to try and get a suspect into custody. my journey and my office is theney begins and investigation will continue. we will not be able to provide the details that you may want at this time. as the days continue, you will get answers to those questions. thank you. >> thank you. , just want to say briefly thank you, thank you, thank you. thank you to the law enforcement officials for working together, stay police, boston police, fbi. that is on government works the best. the lastnt to thank -- week i have known what is happened out there and the

bombing of the marathon. today, because of the hard work of so many individuals working together with the state police, we have a conclusion we are all satisfied with. also the folks that lost their lives the past week. go on.l we will get better. to all of you folks in the media, thank you for the support you give us. it was not easy. some days he said to us, why? the law enforcement officials worked so hard this week to come to a conclusion tonight. we say thank you to them. for the work they did. tracing down every one of those leads that we got which is so significant. now it is up to carmen ortiz to take it to federal court. i feel so good about this.

the people of the greater boston area will be able to sleep tonight. >> good evening. my name is rick laurier, and the special agent in charge of the fbi's boston division. it seems like many months since monday, april 15, the day of the boston marathon bombings. five daysn nearly since the tragic explosions that took three lives, critically injured over 180 spectators and it still terror and fear among the citizens of the city of boston, the commonwealth of massachusetts and elsewhere. ,oday the city of boston cambridge, and watertown and many other communities can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that two perpetrators who caused so much pain and anguish are no longer a threat to our personal safety and communities. , th the action in

support of our joint terrorism task force partners, many of which are on the stage with me this evening, the fbi and our partners remain village in -- vigilant and continue to sift through hundreds of tips to reach this moment. this was truly an intense investigation. i do emphasize a truly intense investigation. as a result, justice is being served for the victims of these terrible crimes. i want to personally express the fbi's profound thanks to each of our partners for bringing us to this moment this evening. no one agency alone accomplished this critically important task of keeping the city of boston and the commonwealth of massachusetts safe. thank you very much. thank you for your support of our media campaign the other day which publicized the photos. support thefor the media provided. it was phenomenal.

four days ago my city was ruthlessly attacked. there is no explaining this savagery involved. there is no explanation for it. this is the last several days looking at hundreds of hours of videotape. i got to see how brutal that attack was over and over and over again. more importantly, i got to see with the boston police officers who responded to that scene, along with the medical personnel and the other first responders did to put people back together. --ning kids -- you can putting out fires with their hands. it makes me proud to the a boston police officer. in makes me proud to be a part of this team. rick laurier from the fbi could not be more cooperative. together almost hour for

hour for the last four days, sharing every single bit of information. , with us all the time. and then, to bring the governor and the mayor together, meeting the city of boston and responding to this. i finally just want to say that the citizens of the city has been incredible. they have been patient with us, they have endured an enormous amount of heartache and i duration of the last four days. we are very happy to try and put this back together. 90. >>-- thank you. as the police chief of watertown, i can't be prouder of my community and the men and women of the police apartment. what we have been through the last one to four hours i would not want to see another police department go through. the support that we have had from all the different agencies mentioned tonight over the last one to has been incredible. see so many agencies work together with the governor, with

the mayor of boston and our officials and watertown has been really great. i have spoken to the people and watertown before, but i can't thank you enough. the community stood strong and it was a call from a resident you toertown, we asked remain vigilant and you did. we got that call and we got a guy. we can't thank you enough. you have done everything and more that we have asked. extremely proud of law enforcement today and what we have accomplished. thank you. >> i just want to thank all those who sent their thoughts officer donahue and his family. it was deeply appreciated. thank you. i also want to commend all the law enforcement agencies who hi dedication and commitment

at its best. i am proud to be part of it. thank you. , special --s joseph >> around there. >> today the entire world witnessed this law enforcement community commitment to apprehending these offenders. make no doubt that this combined effort will never cease in the protection of every city, every town, and every neighborhood in our nation. the prayers from every employee will continue to go out to the victims as they heal from this senseless act of violence. god bless the citizens. >> thank you very much. i was listening to the police action all afternoon on the radio. i would like to join my voice -- add my voice to those who came before me to say what an extraordinary police operation

across all jurisdictions that i was able to listen to and witnessed today. i was at the scene early on. in our business, carmen, myself, it is about accountability. i can't say how happy i am, how pleased i am that the second subject was taken alive. as will ensure accountability for the victims and their family. congratulations to all for a job very well done. now the task ahead for accountability. thank you. >> [indiscernible] tracked there was a call that came into the watertown police. three boston police officers along with state troopers and fbi agents responded to franklin street. a man had gone out of his house after being inside all day, abiding by our request to stay inside. he walked outside and saw blood on a boat in the backyard. he then opened the tarp on top of le.aboat and look in d.

we set up a perimeter around the boat and over the course of the , we exchangedo gunfire with the suspect inside the boat route ultimately, the fbi made an entry into the boat and removed the suspect who was still alive in the boat. >> can you talk about the imperatives of taking him alive? a gulllways wanted suspects alive. >> can you talk about it in the context -- you talk about accountability. why you want to take him alive? >> we always want to take them alive to find out what happened, why it happened a mechanism for justice. >> [indiscernible] did work ine team trying to negotiate him out of that boat. they did try to talk him out. from what i understand he was not convinced -- communicative.

>> [indiscernible] >> i don't have that information. >> talk about the suspect injuries? ?> this is it >> based on our investigation, the citizens of boston and this area can be confident that the threat has been removed. the suspect is in serious condition at the hospital. >> had a you know these are the suspect you are in for yucca -- for? >> the suspect came to our attention after a vicious assassination of a police officer at mx he -- m.i.t. robbery thatent occurred. we have videotape from a gas station. the robbery was a carjacking.

officers engaged that car from the watertown police department and other officers. we were able to the case together. >> when you are apprehending him, was he shot by police officers? >> the man who fundamentally boat said he was covered with blood. we assume those injuries occurred the evening before. there was an exchange of gunfire at the boat. i don't know if he was struck. there was a house in new bedford that the rescue team and into for the fbi, because we felt that it was important to the investigation but he was not founded there. can you tell us a little bit more -- was he shot in cold blood [indiscernible] ? >> my assessment of that incident is that he was assassinated in his cruiser. he was responding to a call for a discordant. >> given that he wasre

must still armed, was it a mistake to give the all clear and let people go outside? >> we certainly did not given all clear. we made it clear that people, this was a very serious and dangerous situation. we had no information that the suspect was still in this particular area. he managed to elude us by being slightly outside of the perimeter we have set up. we told, -- in truth, everybody this is a dangerous situation and they should be cautious. this is a very dangerous time in the world. we have to use caution. that is what we ask people to do. the man who found the suspect called us right away. we were able to come in and take care of the situation. >> [indiscernible] >> no report of vix low since with him at the capture. i was at the scene last after the incident occurred. there was an exchange of over

two hundred rounds of gunfire, improvised explosive devices and handmade hand grenades thrown at the officers. this is the stuff that in an urban police department, it is almost unheard of. these officers acted heroically and protect the community and .lected -- protected each other i am so proud of the actions of the watertown police, state police, the boston police, it has been an incredible team. did he have a weapon and the boat? >> i was told there was an exchange of gunfire. i was not there when he was taken out of the boat. could younda warning explain that? >> the fbi may want to explain that in a federal issue. >> had the boat then searched earlier in the day? >> know it had not rea.

.ights no miranda warning >> there is a public safety exemption in cases of national security and potential charges involving acts of terrorism. the government has the thoughnity right now, i believe the suspect has been taken to a hospital. thank you. >> [indiscernible] this is still an ongoing investigation. we will be reviewing all of the evidence. before that canada decision is made, in terms of whether or not to seek the death penalty, you review all of the evidence and it is a very thoughtful, on process that is engaged. it is the attorney general of the department of justice that make that final decision. [indiscernible] you. can

talk about what happens when you are on the scene, was he moving around? how did you know there was a chance to take him into custody at th? >> we know he did not go straight to the goat area on the set up a perimeter with the best intentions with a lot of information. we found blood behind the house inside the perimeter. we had information that he had .otten outside the perimeter it was chaotic early this morning. we had a police officer that was shot that we had to aid. without we got the perimeter solid and three much did that. we were about one block away. he had to be moving in little bit after, he was behind a house for a time. >> how did you know you can take him into custody? , our reason we knew helicopter had detected the

subject and the boat area we have a forward-looking infrared device from a helicopter. he picked up the heat signature of the individual in the he was underneath a cover on the boat itself areas there was movement from that point on. the helicopter was able to direct the tactical teams to that area and ultimately take him into custody. it was outside the perimeter during the day, it is not searched. this is the act of a citizen that went out and discovered this individual in the boat. thealternately called watertown police department and resulted in this result. [indiscernible] is there a chance the suspect won't make it and won't live to tell the story? >> i know he is in serious bon'o

what extent. i think we have taken enough questions for now. thank you. >> authorities there talking of thehe apprehension second suspect wanted in the boston marathon bombings. he is in custody after being found hiding out in a boat stored in a backyard in watertown, massachusetts.

he was reportedly arrested without incident, but he did need medical attention. he is in serious condition at a boston area hospital and before the press conference we were showing a senate judiciary committee hearing. we may go back to that shortly. we also do know that the president will be making remarks from the white house briefing room. we shortly expect remarks from president obama about the apprehension of the boston marathon suspect. also to let you know, he is from

a district in russia near chechnya. earlier today president obama said he had been talking by phone to the russian president vladimir putin about the investigation. in a statement, the white house said hooton expressed his condolences on behalf of the russian people. he white house also says president obama praised the close cooperation that the united states have received from russia on counterterrorism, including in the wake of the boston attack and the white house statement said the two leaders agreed to continue cooperation on counterterrorism and security going forward. shortly fromarks president obama from the white house briefing room. >> taking you now to the white house briefing room for the press conference by president obama.

before the president makes an -- we will take a look at it with the authorities said at the press conference just a few minutes ago.

>> we are so grateful to bring justice and closure to this case. to those families that lost loved ones, or suffered injuries they have delivered the rest of their lives. a police officer, a young man starting a career at mighty -- mit, and a police officer who almost lost his life, and neighborhoods that lived in fear for an entire day, the art you turn grateful for the outcome here tonight. we have a suspect in custody. i want to thank all of the partners who worked tirelessly over the last four days, including the fbi, the transit police, our brothers with the boston police department, the u.s. attorney's office, and the support we have gotten from our governor over the last four days. we are exhausted, folks. but we have a victory here tonight.

but let's not forget the people along the way. thanks very much. governor? >> on behalf of crystal and martin and lacey, on behalf of the m.i.t. officer who was lost last night and the transit police officer who was injured, and behalf of the hundred of people who were hurt by the explosions at the marathon, i want to say how grateful i am to special agent in charge charge, to all of the law enforcement who worked so well and so hard together to ring us to tonight's conclusion. .t was a very complicated case a very challenging case. there are still some questions remaining to be answered. as the colonel said, because of that extraordinary collaborationl ofhe lor

resources and assets and people emma professionals, who brought suspectgame, we have a in custody tonight. also want to thank all their participation in this investigation by reviewing photographs of their own and other that were up in the media, we thank you for that and helping us narrow in on these suspects. they were helpful and patient and we're grateful for that as well. tonight, we're all going to rest easy. >> good evening. i'm the united states attorney and i have to say that both the governor and the colonel have put it well.

we feel a tremendous sense of gratitude and relief. the ordeal that neighborhood and community has endured in the last 24 hours, tonight, we can sleep easier. all the horrific and yet heroic acts that have occurred in the last several day, starting with the bombing attacks on monday here we are and not forgetting the victims of the crimes that have occurred over the last several days. the victims of the bombings, martin, lingzi lu, krystle campbell, two officers were hurt, one that lost his life. our thoughts and prayers with are with their families. tonight you're going to have many questions but i want to say as i've said in the last several day, this has been an active, ongoing investigation.

for some of you tonight is a cloture, for me the journey continues. o this will continued to be an ongoing investigation as we sought all of the details, continue to evaluate a tremendous amount of evidence and file our former charges. i have never been prouder than to stand with this group of law enforcement here to the colonel to the commissioner to my colleague with the f.b.i., all of the federal agents, the state and local who have worked so hard, so hard since the attacks on monday. they are so committed and putting their lives on the line as we fought the last 24 hours to try to get a suspect into custody. my journey and my office's journey begins and this investigation will continue.

so we will not be able to provide the details you want at this time. as the days continue you will get answers to those questions. thank you. ?> mayor menino >> i just want to say thank you. thank you, thank you, thank you. thank you to the law enforcement for working together. that is when the government works the best. i want to thank the citizens out there. or the last week -- because of the bombings at the marathon. today, because of the hard work of so many individuals, boston police, working together with the state police, we have a conclusion that we're all satisfied with. also, the folks who have lost their lives in the past week. we're a better city than we have been this past week and we'll get better.

all the smokes -- folks out to the media thank you for the support. you kept saying why? i spent a lot of time to the law enforcement officials they work sod hard this week. we say thank you to them, the work they have done. they tracked down every one of those leads, which is so significant to come to the end this case today. now it is up to her job to bring it in the federal court. i feel so good about this. i'm so happy. now the people in the boston area can sleep tonight because of the work of these individuals. >> good evening. i'm the special agent in charge of the f.b.i.'s bosn it seems many months since the

marathon -- >> we're leaving this now to take you to live for remark by president obama. >> boston youians responded with determinations. they did their parts as sises and partners in this investigation. boston police and state police and local police across the commonwealth massachusetts responded with professionalism and bravery over five long days. because of their efforts we closed an important chanter in this tragedy. i've been briefed earlier this evening, after attacks on monday i directed the full resources of the federal government to be made available to state and local authie i the

investigation and increase security as needed. over the past week, close coordination over state, local, and federal officials, sharing information, moving swiftly to track down leads has been critical to this effort. they all worked as they should, as a team. and we're extremely grateful for that. owe a tremendous set of gratitude to all of our professionals. these men and women get up every day, they put on the uniform, and they don't always know what to expect. our thoughts are with those who were wounded in pursuit of the suspects and we pray for their recovery. e also send our prayers to the collier family. he was just 26-yearlds.

line of duty doing what he committed his life to doing, serving and protecting others. we're grateful to him. obviously, tonight there are still many unabsenced questions. among them, why did young men who grew up and studied here as part of our communities and our country resort to such violence? how did they plan and carry out the attacks and did they receive any help? the families of those killed so senselessly deserve answers. the wounded, some of whom now have to learn how to stand and walk and live again deserve answers. so i've instructed the f.b.i. and the department of homeland security and our intelligence community to continue deploy all the necessary resources to support the investigation, collect intelligence, and to protect our citizens. we will determine what happened.

we will investigate any associates that these terrorists may have had and we'll continue to do whatever we have to do to keep our people safe. one thing we do know, whatever hateful agenda that drove these men to such hispanic nouse acts cannot prevail. not er they thought they achieve. they failed because boston refused to be intimidate. as americans we refuse to be terrorized. they failed because we will never waiver from the compassion that defines us from the country. nor will we break the bonleds that holds us together as americans. that american spirit includes staying true to the unity and diversity that makes us strong. like no other nation in the

stage of instant, reporting blogs, tweeting there is a temptation to latch on to any bit of information, sometimes to jump to conclusions. but when a tragedy like this happens with public safety at risk and the stakes so high it is important that we do this right. that's why we have investigations. that's why we releaptlessly gather the facts. that's why we have courts. that's why we take care not rush to judgment, not about the motivations of the individual, certainly not about entire groups of people. after all, one of the things that makes america the greatest nation on earth but also what makes boston such a great city is we welcome people from all around the world, people of every faith, every ethnicity, every corner of theas we ou and

this tragedy happened, let's make sure we sustain that spirit. tonight, we think of all the wounded still struggling to recovery. charles we think of krauthammer, we think of lingzi lu, we think of little martin richard. -- reflected the beauty of our country and they were sharing a great american experience together. flinle, let me say that even as so much attention that is been focused on the tragic events in boston, understandably. we've also seen a tight knit community in texas devastated by an explosion. they are not forgotten. our thoughts and prayers are with the people of west, texas

where so many people lost their lives, some lost their homes, many are injured, many are still miss pfing i talked to governor perry and i pledged that the people of west will have the resources they need to rebuild. i want the people of texas to know we will follow through with this commitment. all in all, it has been a tough week. but we've seen the character of our country once more. as president, i'm confident that we have the courage and the resilience and the spirit to overcuck these challenges and to go -- overcome these challenges in to go forward under god, divisible with liberty and justice for all. thank, everybody.

we want you to know it is not going to stop, even as we return you to your regular programming.

a suspect in custody. i want to thank all the partners who have worked tirelessly over last four days, including the f.b.i., the transit police, boston police department, the u.s. attorney's office and the support we've gotten from our governor over the last four days. we're exhausted folks, but we have a victory here tonight. let's not forget those people along the way. thanks very much. >> on behalf of charles krauthammer, lingzi lu, martin richard, on behalf of the m.i.t. officer who was lost last night and the transit police officer who was injured, on behalf of the hundreds of people hurt by the explosions in the marathon, i want to say how grateful i am to colonel, the

charge, all of the law enforcement who worked so well and hard together, together to bring us to tonight's conclusion. it was a very, very complicated case, a challenging case. there are still question remaining to be answered. as the colonel said, because of the collaboration and cooperation because of the resources and assets and people, professionals, who brought their a-game we have a suspect in custody tonight. i want to thank all of the embers of the public for their -- by reviewing photographs and their own from the media we want to thank you for that. we want to say that they were

helpful and grateful for that tonight as well. because of that we're all going to rest easy. >> good evening. i'm the united states attorney and i have to say that both the governor and the colonel have put it tremendously well. tonight, we feel a tremendous sense of gratitude and relief. the ordeal that this community and this neighborhood has endured over the last 24 hours, tonight we can sleep a bit easier. all of the unpredictable, horrific, yet heroic acts that have occurred over the last several days, starting with the terrible bombings attacked that return occurred on monday. here we are and not forgetting the victims of the crimes that have occurred over the last several days. vtim victims of

documentings, krystle campbell, martin richard, lingzi lu, two officers that lost his life and the officer that is fighting for his life. our thoughts and prayers are with their families. tonight you're going to have many questions, but i want to say this has been an a very active, ongoing investigation. for some of you tonight is a closure, for me the journey continues. so this will continue to be an ongoing and active investigation as we sought all the details, continue to evaluate a tremendous amount of evidence and file our formal charges. but i will say this, i have never been prouder to stand with a tremendous group of law enforcement here from the colonel to the commissioner to my federal colleagues with the

f.b.i., all the federal agencies, the state and local daptses that have worked so hard, so hard since the attacks on monday. so committed and putting their lives on the line as we fought the last 24 hours to try to get a suspect into custody. my office' and journey will continue. we will not be able to provide the details dwhrue want at this time. as the days continue you will get answers to those questions. thank you. >> mayor menino? >> thank you. i just want to say briefly thank you, thank you, thank you. thank you to the law enforcement officials for working together, state police, local police, f.b.i. that's when the government works the best. i want to thank the citizens out there. did not ast week, we

know what happened out there because of the bombing. but today, because of the hard working individuals, we have a conclusion that we're all satisfied with. also remember the folks that lost their lives this past week. we will go on. we're a better city than were last week. to the media, thank you for your support. some days you kept asking why? i spent a lot of time to the law enforcement officials and they worked so hard to come to a conclusion. thanks to them for the work they did tracing down every one of those leads in that regard, which is so significant that brought us to the end of the case today. now it is up to her job to be i i feel so good about this.

i'm so happy. as the people in the boston area i will be able to sleep tonight because of the work of these individuals. >> good evening. i'm the special agent of the f.b.i.'s boston division. since s like many mons monday, monday 145 since the boston marathon bombings. it has been five days of the explosions that took three lives and instilled terror even fear of the citizens of boston, the commonwealth of massachusetts and elsewhere. today, the city of boston, the city of cambridge, and the city of watertown and many other communities can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that two prep anngui n longer a so much pain

threat to our communities. together with the action and support of our joint terrorism task force partners many on this stage this evening, the f.b.i. and our partners remained vigilant sifted through hundreds of tips and thousands of man hours to reach this moment. it was truly an intense investigation and i emphasize a truly intense investigation. as a result of that justice is being served of these terrible crimes. i want to personally express the profound thank for each of our partners for bringing us this moment this evening. o agency accomplished this aloe. thank you very much and i thank you for your support of the media campaign, which publicized

the photos. i thank each and every one of ou on that tonight, thank you. >> four days ago my city was ruthlessly attacked. there is no explanation for this. i spent the last several days looking at hundreds of hours of videotape. i get to see how brutal the attack was over and over and over again. more importantly, i got to see what the boston police officers who responded to the scene along with the medical personnel did to put people back together. tourniquets, putting a man who was on fire out with their hands. it makes me proud to be a police officer, it makes me proud to be part of this team. the f.b.i. cou have been

more coorpprative. we sat hour for hour sharing information. car minute with us all the time. - carmin with us all the time. leaving the city of boston and responding to this, the citizens of the city have been incredible. they have been patient and they endured an enormous amount of heartache over the last four days. we're happy to put this back ogether. >> as the police chief of watertown, i can't be prouder of my community and the men and women of the police department. what we've been through in the last 24 hours i would not want to see another police department go through. the support we've had from all the different a mentioned

tonight have been incredible. to see so many agencies work together with the mayor and officials of the boston has been great. i can't thank the community enough. you stood strong and it was a call from a resident in tertown, who we asked you to remain individual lentsd and you did. we got the guy. you did everything and more that we asked. extremely proud of law enforcement today and what we ccomplished. >> i just want to thank all of those who sent their thoughts and prayers to officer donahue and his family. it was deeply appreciated. thank you. i want to commend all of the law enforcement agents who took part in this. this is truly dedication and

commitment at its best. i'm proud to be part of it. thank you. >> special agent in charge of the a.t.f. >> today the entire world witnessed the commitment to apprehending these offenders. this combinedest will never cease in every city, every town, in every neighborhood in our nation. the prayers from every a.t.f. employee will continue to go out to the victims as they heal from this senseless act of violence. may god bless the citizens. >> thank you very much. i was listening to the police action all afternoon on the radio and i would like to join my voice or add my voice to cambefore me what

an extraordinary police operation across all jurisdiction that i was able to listen to and witness today. i was at the scene early on and is usiness and carmin, it about accountability. i can't say how pleased i am that this second suspect was taken alive. congratulations to all law enforcement for a job very well ne and now to task ahead for accountability. >> we'll take questions. >> how did the events transpire to the boat? >> there was a call to police officers and f.b.i. agents and other agents responded to franklin street. a man had gone outside of his house after being inside all day. he walked outside and saw blood d a tarp in on the boat d.

and he looked inside and saw a man covered in blood. he retreated and called us. around the perimeter boat. the f.b.i. made an entry into the boat and removed the suspect, who was still alive, in the boat. >> can you talk about the imperative of taking him alive. >> we always want to take every suspect alive. >> i understand that, sir. can you talk about this individual, you can talk about accountability. >> we always want to take something alive so we can find out what happened, why it happened, and we can hold them to justice. >> [unintelligible] >> there hostage rescue team did work trying to negotiate

him, they did try to talk him out but he was not communicating. >> [unintelligible] >> i actually don't have that information. >> that you got your guy, this is it? >> i think based upon our investigation at this point in time, the citizens of the city of boston and this area can be confident that the threat has been removed. [unintelligible] >> the suspect is in serious condition at the hospital. >> how do you know this is the suspects that you're looking for? they did not rob the 7-eleven so how did you know these were the ight guys? >> after the o ofcer at m.i.t.

the robbery was a carjacking. the car was taken at the scene. we were able to put the case together after that. >> when you were apprehended him at the boat, was he shot by a police officer? >> the man who found him said he was covered with blood. we assume that those injuries the night before, we don't know if he was struck. there was a house in new bedford that the hostage team went into because we felt it was important for the investigation but the suspect was not found there. >> [unintelligible] officer sean collier, what do you know about that? >> what i knowbo was he was assd

in his cruiser. >> what was he doing there? >> he was responding to a durs. >> to give the all clear, don't you think that was a mistake? >> we did not give the all-clear. this was a serious and dangerous situation. we had no information that the suspect was still holed up in this particular area. be being to elude us outside the perimeter that we set up. in truth, we told everyone this is a dangerous situation and they should be cautious. this is a dangerous tame, we asked people to use caution. thankfully, the man who found him did the right thing, he called 911 and we were able to command the situation. there was no report of explosivesin

stig there was an exchange of over 200 rounds of gunfire and there were handmade hand grenades that were thrown at the officers. this is the stuff in an urbans police department is almost unheard of. they protected the community and they protected each other when they responded to the scene. i'm so proud of the actions of the watertown police, the state police, the boston police, it has been an incredible team. >> did he have a weapon in the boat? >> i was told there was an exchange of gunfire, i was not there when he was taken out of the boat. >> no miranda warning, do you want to explain that to us. >> that is a federal issue.